Hampshire Youth Games Success!Congratulations to Fair Oak Juniors for winning gold in both the Mini Squash and the Youth Squash (representing Eastleigh), at the Hampshire Youth Games held in Aldershot last weekend.

The Mini Squash team, Morgan Hooper-Robinson, Kian Whelan, Ben Webb, Finn Horgan and Aidan Horgan won all of their matches on the day, beating Basingstoke 12-5, Test Valley 13-2 and beating New Forest 14-2 in the final.

It's a fantastic win for all players and the first time that Eastleigh have won the double in the squash event at the Games, well done to all. Shane Pletts - Teams Manager and Coach

Mini Squash Team win their league this year!

Great result in their first year. There will be a presentation at the club on Sunday 1st June 1300-1600.

First Team gain promotion to the Premier Division!

After a tough year our first team have managed to reach the top flight of county squash again. This is great news for the players and the club.

Fair Oak 1 just miss out on Hampshire Racketball championship. Pipped into second place by a very strong and consistent David Lloyd Ringwood. Good effort.

Racketeers win Hampshire Division 2. Excellent result.

Kyle Finch has just been selected to play for the England under 17 team! This is a fantastic result for him, his dad Paul and of course our club who are very proud of his achievements. More news on this soon. Posted 28/3/14

Aercon Report from Andy Codders

The semi-finals of both the main draw and then the plate were contested, followed by the final for each. This was the culmination of around 50 matches and over 1800 rallies that had seen a (modern) record 32 entrants do battle. Thanks to all who took part, and to all who marked matches.

The plate contest saw Natalie Morant (+2) play Dilip Chakrabarti (-1) and Bob Carkeet (+1) play Gordon Scott (-1) in the semis. In fact, each was more like its own final; Natalie and Dilip – rarely 4 points apart – battled to a 25-23 win in Natalie’s favour. Two very evenly matched players in terms of skill, fitness and determination. A classic! On the other court, Bob and Gordon were just as nip-and-tuck, with the serve oscillating between them and the score 19-19 until Bob inexplicably tinned 6 shots in a row to hand Gordon a final spot.

While Natalie and Gordon rested, the main draw semis took place; Matt Merriman (-8) played Bob Broadbridge (+8), and Rob Motson (+20) played Kyle Finch (-30). Bob made few errors but Matt was on fire. Bob hit the ball hard, Matt hit it harder. Bob chased well, Matt reached everything. The upshot was Matt closed the game out 25-12 to book his place in the final. Meanwhile Kyle put on his crampons to start the huge ascent that was the points difference he faced against Rob; Kyle – part machine, part ice cube – responded to everything Rob (very ably) through at him, eventually reaching his 55 point target for the loss of just 3 rallies to set up a repeat of last year’s final.

In the plate final, Natalie (-1) made the early running against Gordon (+1) winning some quick points. Whether it be fitness, the length of the racket, or the size of the ball – who knows – Gordon looked increasingly uncomfortable as Natalie sensed victory and pressed home her advantage. Congratulations to Natalie for winning the plate competition 25-3.

In the main draw Matt found himself in the unusual position of a positive start score (+9) and Kyle looked buoyed at the prospect of a single-digit negative start for him (-8). Matt dominated some rallies, chased hard in others, but all the while Kyle was eating into the points deficit – closing in. Kyle finally caught Matt around 19 all, by which point Matt had already won more points off Kyle than all other competitors in the tournament combined. Time to sit back and cut your losses? Not on your nelly! Despite an “ultra-fatigue moment” that expressed itself in the form of a nose bleed, Matt dug in to match Kyle blow-for-blow, point-for-point as the scores reached 23 all. But Kyle drew upon the experience that comes from his considerable years to hold his nerve and win 25-23. Congratulations to Kyle for a third successive win. NEVER AGAIN!

Thanks all for your support of this event. And special thanks to Chris Wright for his bar duties, ensuring all competitors remained well lubricated.

Same again next year?Cheers,

Andy

The club are conducting a review of coaching following the last committee meeting. An initial draft report is being prepared followed by consultation with the coaches and then decisions to be made following that. If any member has any comments about coaching please let us know.

Matt Merriman Wins Racketball!

Yes, Matt has become Fair Oak's Racketball Champion for 2013. He beat Paul Bright in the final of the A event on Friday 15th November. Other winners were Andy Codrai in the B Grade and Aaron Morant in the C grade final. Full report will be added soon.

13/11/13

Kyle Wins Michael May Cup.

Kyle won the Michael May Cup for the single outstanding sporting performance 2013. This cup is open to all sports and the winner is chosen by the Sports Federation executive committee. Despite strong competition from nominations from 5 other sports, Kyle won for his performance as the No 1 U15 player in the European Team Event in Spain. Fiona Geaves who is the England Squash High Performance Coach responsible for all Team England juniors, said of his performance;

"Kyle showed absolute professionalism throughout the event, setting an excellent example to the younger players in the U15 team. Every single one of Kyle's performances was played with heart and passion for his team mates as well as country, resulting in two outstanding wins against the No 1 and No 2 players in Europe. Although Kyle is currently ranked No 4 in Europe (after note now No 1), these results indicate that he is one of the best players in Europe at U15. Kyle was an integral part of Team England once again retaining this European title, winning all his matches and duly carried the extremely big trophy home."

10/10/13

Red Nose Day raises £450 for Children in Need. Ben Vincent does a great job in organising a junior tournament at the club on Saturday 10th November. Mike Thornton local MP opens up the day. Report in the Eastleigh WeeklyHERE

3/11/2013

Kyle Finch wins National U15 title!

Fair Oak's top junior player Kyle Finch has won the British National U15 Championship in Sheffield on the 3rd November 2013.

He beat Adam Corcorane from Winchester 3-2 in the final. A great result for Kyle and our club.